In honor of National Best Friends Day I decided to write a little bit about some of my long time girlfriends.All of them are fantastic, amazing, fun, strong women.It was hard to narrow it down, over the years I have made many “Best Friends” that remain that whether they are near or far. I decided to focus on the theme from Duluth to the Twin Cities. The women that have crossed the twenty year friendship threshold I met them all during my four years living in Duluth Minnesota. Our friendships grew and were nurtured living in the Twin Cities. While I couldn't include all my most wonderful and dearest friends in this particular piece I would like to give a quick shout out to my gals in Ely, Coon Rapids, Colorado Springs, Austin TX and Oakland!I love you all too!

From Duluth to St. Paul

Amy ~

Amy and I met at a theatre party in this teeny tiny house in Duluth. She was looking for a place to live and my friend Mark and I needed a roommate. She visited us the next day and we quickly discovered that she and I had an equal infatuation with Jim Morrison of the Doors and a love for cats. We were instantly best friends. Amy and I were the stylish, single girls on the town and for a short time we both worked together as tour guides on the William A Irvin, the ship museum, that is permanently docked in the Duluth Harbor.

Amy and I met in our early twenties and have been friends for twenty one years now. She introduced me to the wonderful world of rollerblading on the Munger Trail and all the "finest" dive bars in Superior Wisconsin. We both wore the same size shoe so we had doubled our supply of cute shoes on a college girl budget. Our friendship is the kind that lasts even when there is a period where life takes one on another journey. I moved to Minneapolis and Amy to St. Paul. We reconnected after eight years of silence and it was as if time hadn't passed at all.

Amy's favorite Aprilierre design is the earrings I designed for her and her sisters out of recycling the ivory piano keys from her late mothers most beloved instrument. (you can read more about that story here.)

From Superior to St. Paul

Teresa ~

Teresa is an awesome woman, she is fearless, smart, independent and confident. She will win you over with her warm kind hearted smile and sassy sense of humor. I have known Teresa for twenty years now. We met in a comedy of errors sort of way in Superior Wisconsin. Teresa introduced me to our "Sunday Fundays". She would drive through the back roads near Solon Springs popping in at a dive bar or two along the way. We shared so many laughs, met so many characters and we share a love the Blues. Teresa is one of the most positive people I have ever met. She works hard. She's managed restaurants, been a florist for over a decade, and in her forties decided to go back to school and get her degree in social work specializing in gender studies. She also found the time to become a tattoo advocate and helps put together major tattoo conventions in the Minnesota & North Dakota area. Our friendship survived the couple of years apart after I moved to Minneapolis and she was still in Duluth/Superior. The best news I ever got was when she called me up to say she was moving to St. Paul to go to school.

Teresa's favorite design is the Spheres and Bubbles. The inspiration is having fun playing with the shapes cut out from one of my cuffs.

I strive to be resourceful with my jewelry designs. The Bubbles and Spheres collection allows me to use the most amount of my materials featuring cuffs, pendants and earrings all while producing little scrap and waste. I will always think of my friend Teresa when I work on this type of design. She has confessed to me that she has always had a fixation on smooth, round, shiny objects.

From Duluth to St. Paul & NE Minneapolis

Renee ~

Renee and I met a good four years before we actually became friends. I think we both wanted to dislike each other at first but soon found out we simply couldn't. I first met Renee when I was still roommates with Amy. She came to Duluth with a mutual acquaintance of ours and they were crashing for the weekend at our place. Renee wasn't yet twenty-one at the time so Amy and I blew her off and headed out for the bars. Four years later I would be staying at her place because my long time friend Mark ended up subletting her St. Paul apartment while she was in Germany. She came home one evening and saw my size 7 shoes by the front door and thought "who is the B**** with the small shoes?" I had moved to the Twin Cities shortly after that encounter and I only had male friends at the time. I needed a girlfriend so badly. I didn't have Teresa and I didn't have Amy. So I called up Renee, she introduced me to dancing at First Avenue and expanded my musical tastes to include The Roots and Massive Attack. She took me to Chicago, to experience my first (and pretty much only) Rave. We shared a love for fashion and it didn't take long for a strong friendship to emerge. Our travel adventures lead us to New Orleans, Las Vegas, Denver and Terlingua, Texas. We always manage to uplift each other when we need and remain vigilant riding out the storms life can send your way.

Renee's favorite designs are the spinner rings and any long statement earrings. She is an earring girl and will never leave the house with out a pair of earrings.

And Minneapolis

Samantha~

I couldn't leave out Samantha. While she doesn't share the same connection of Duluth to the Twin Cities. I had to include her in this post because she is one dynamic woman who has believed in my business and work and has numerous times helped me out of a jam when I needed someone to work my Aprilierre table at an event.

Sam introduced me to the wonderful world of Mexican cooking especially her Elotes. Sam is a women made from pure determination, she fearlessly served her country in Afghanistan, she has worked her way up the corporate ladder and with the political times being tense she embraced the opportunity to "be the change" and is currently running for Minneapolis City Council.

Sam's favorite piece of Aprilierre jewelry is the classic spinner ring, the brass bangles and her favorite one of a kind quartz necklace.

These women and many more have made such an impact on my life. We stick by each other through the good times and the bad. I am honored to call them all Best Friends. Happy National Best Friends Day!